All right, folks, it’s that time again. The White Lotus finale is almost upon us, which means it’s time to dust off your detective hats and play everyone’s favorite game: Whodunit? Who is the person responsible for the dead body floating in the water at the beginning of Episode 1? How did they do it? And, of course, with that weapon?
Welcome to The White Lotus Clue Edition: where the suspects are sunburned, the motives are murkier than the vacationers’ morals, and the murder weapon could very well be a gun, toxic fruit, or lorazepam—or maybe all three mixed in with a healthy dose of vacation-induced stupidity.
After six weeks of obsessing over the mystery, viewers are locking in their final accusations in preparation for the big reveal. So, without further ado, here’s your final White Lotus suspect board. Place your bets now, folks—and may the best theory win.
Suspect #1: Gaitok
Weapon: Gun
Victim: Valentin (the hot Russian) or Mook (nooooo!)
In last week’s episode, “Survival Instincts,” the Buddhist monk gave viewers an ominous warning: “Remember this: Every one of us has the capacity to kill. Buddhist scripture condemns violence in every form. Violence, aggression, anger stem from same source—fear.”
As everyone knows, Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) is, without a doubt, the most innocent person in this entire season. He’s kind, trusting to a fault, and most importantly, he is the only character besides the monk to express his distaste for violence.
“I think it’s wrong. The Buddha condemns violence,” Gaitok says to Mook (Lalisa Manobal) on their date. “I never want to hurt people.”
Given Mike White’s penchant for ironic twists in previous seasons, it would make sense that the one person who hates violence would ultimately be the killer.
And now that Gaitok realizes that Valentin and his buddies are behind the hotel robbery, it’s possible that viewers could be looking at a confrontation-gone-wrong scenario, where Gaitok confronts Valentin, who then gets violent, forcing Gaitok to pull the trigger.
However, other fans think that Gaitok will accidentally shoot Mook while trying to stop the people responsible for the gunshots viewers hear at the beginning of Episode 1.
It would be a tragic twist: Gaitok, the person who hates violence, finally decides to go against his morals and use it to confront the intruders, only for it to backfire on him and cause him to kill the person he was hoping to marry.
Personally, I’m putting my money on this theory. Although, for Gaitok’s sake, I hope it’s wrong, as I’m not sure he will be able to live with the guilt.
Suspect #2: Gary/Greg
Weapon: Gun (in a murder-for-hire scenario)
Victim: Belinda (run, girl, RUN!)
Some people think Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) might be the person who ends up in a body bag this season. The theory here is that Belinda turned down Gary/Greg’s (Jon Gries) $100,000 offer to stay quiet about his involvement in his wife’s untimely demise, and now he’s about to make her disappear by paying the Russians to kill her.
Suspect #3: The Russians
Weapon: Guns (of course)
Victim: Gaitok (again, please no, not him!)
Now that Gaitok knows Valentin (Arnas Fedaravicius) and his two buddies, Aleksei and Vlad, are behind the hotel robbery, a confrontation feels imminent (cue ominous music).
Will that escalate to a shootout? If so, Gaitok’s life could be the price, making him the dead body floating in the water shown in Episode 1.
Another theory making the rounds is that Gaitok sacrifices himself to protect Mook or one of the guests (my money is on Belinda), after the Russians open fire on the orders of Greg/Gary.
It would be a classic “White Lotus” ending. A powerful, privileged vacationer puts an innocent (and less privileged) person in harm’s way, leading to their tragic demise.
It’s dark, twisted, and oh so on-brand for the show.
Suspect #4: Timothy Ratliff
Weapon: Poisoned smoothies
Victim: His whole family (it’s a family annihilator scenario)
Chekov’s gun? More like Chekov’s fruit.
Listen, it’s been two full episodes now of Timothy Ratliff (Jason Isaacs) fantasizing about offing himself (and the whole family). If anyone seems to have a taste for violence, it’s this spiraling Duke graduate.
A lot of people think Tim will kill his entire family to “save” them from the shame of poverty, before finally offing himself. And now that he is down a gun (courtesy of Gaitok), fans believe Tim will use Saxon’s blender to serve his family some poisoned smoothies made from the toxic seeds of the pong pong tree mentioned back in Episode 1.
Dang it Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), you just had to ask for a blender for your stupid protein shakes, didn’t you?
Suspect #5: Sritala’s Bodyguards
Weapon: Guns (but this time, without the Russians)
Victim: Rick or Chelsea (either would be devastating)
Some viewers think Sritala’s bodyguards will shoot and kill Rick (Walton Goggins) once he gets back to the resort.
Now, this theory may sound out of left field, but is it? After that whole gun-raising debacle with the hotel owner’s husband in last week’s episode, Rick should probably be worried about some repercussions coming his way. Unfortunately, it’s not just him at the resort. Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) is there too. Is it possible she gets caught in the crosshairs?
It would be a level of tragedy on par with the Greeks for Chelsea to die as soon as Rick finds some inner peace, after letting go of his plans to kill Sritala’s husband, the man who he believed murdered his father.
Suspect #6: Victoria Ratliff
Weapon: Lorazepam
Victim: Her own d*** lorazepam loving self
It’s no secret that Victoria Ratliff (Parker Posey) really, really loves her lorazepam, which is why viewers think they may just be the death of her.
Currently, Tim is popping those things like mints. But what if Victoria finds the remaining ones, decides to take a few, and accidentally overdoses now that her tolerance has gone after not taking them for a few days?
Honestly, my version of a happy end for the Ratliff family is that the all join the Boooodhist temple.
